Area Faculty

Amelia Arsenault

Assistant Professor (PhD. USC, Annenberg School; MSc London Sch of Econ.; BA Dartmouth). Research interests include: global media and power, media and communication for development, network theory, new media, and public diplomacy. Her scholarly work has appeared in several edited volumes and journals such as the International Journal of Communication, International Sociology, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and Information, Communication, and Society.

Associate Professor (Ph.D. University of Kansas, 1996). Jaye L. Atkinson's research focuses on the intersection of communication and stereotypes of older adults. Some of her research analyzes how communication perpetuates/negates stereotypes (e.g., the phrase “senior moment”), and in other research, she examines how stereotypes influence how people speak to older adults.

Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of California at San Diego, 2009). Patricia Davis researches in the area of cultural studies, with a particular interest in the mechanics of public memory. Her dissertation examined how participants in Civil War reenactments accounted for their own public performances. Her work is more widely concerned with memory and heritage studies, race and representation, visual culture, critical gender studies, and popular culture.

Assistant Professor (Ph.D. Univ of OR; MA Univ of GA; BS Univ of FL). Research interests include critical media studies, critical animal studies, environmental comm, media ethics, and strategic comm for social change. Much of her scholarship examines how nonhuman animals and vegetarianism are framed by animal and environmental activists and news and entertainment media, making recommendations for ethical communication to create a more just & sustainable world.

Associate Professor (Ph.D. Washington State),Yuki Fujioka's research areas include the processes and effects of mediated messages, racial and ethnic minorities and media, and communication and health decision-making. More specifically, Dr. Fujioka's research program centers on the role of social identity in how individuals, particularly minority and underserved audiences, process and respond to mediated information about race, ethnicity, and health-related issues.

Associate Professor (Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2003). Tony Lemieux’s research focuses on violence and transnational conflict resolution (he is among faculty appointed to a 2CI interdisciplinary research project on this subject) and public health.

Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Southern California, 2006). Dr. Hongmei Li's research focuses on globalization, consumer culture, identity, public diplomacy and culture of the Internet, with an emphasis on Contemporary China in particular and Asian countries in general.

Associate Professor (Ph.D. Univ of Iowa; MA Univ of Wisc Madison; BA Univ of Mass Amherst). Research interests include feminist media studies, critical and cultural studies, and journalism studies. She is the author or editor of several books, most recently Women in Higher Education: The Fight for Equity (Hampton, 2011) and Women in Popular Culture: Representation and Meaning (Hampton, 2008). She is currently working on a book about the representation of African American women in the news.

Shawn Powers (Ph.D., University of Southern California, 2009) specializes in international political communication, with particular attention to the geopolitics of information and information technologies
Selected Courses Taught:Communication in a Global Context (MA & PhD), International Political Economy of the Media (MA & PhD), Middle East Media (MA & PhD), Communication Law & Regulation (Undergraduate), Introduction to Theories of the Mass Media (undergraduate)

Associate Professor (Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2007). Natalie Tindall researches in the area of public relations. Dr. Tindall has undertaken research in areas including identity, diversity, and power in the public relations function; identity and health messages; fundraising and philanthropy; organizational culture and stereotypes within historically Black fraternities and sororities; and the intersection of public relations and marketing to minority health.